Midtown Lunch

Photo by Ultraclay dot com

In Midtown it looks like “Little Italy Pizza” is becoming the new “Famous Ray’s”. I’ve written about the Little Italy Pizza on 45th btw. 5+6th, and then there is the arguably more famous Little Italy Pizza on 43rd btw. Mad+5th (which lost out to Two Boots by a narrow margin for best pizza in the 2007 Readers’ Poll.) But did you know there is actually a 3rd (Famous) Little Italy Pizza! Ultraclay has the report about this pizza place on 5th Ave. btw. 32+33rd, and from the looks of the pizza, and the comments on Yelp– this looks like it could be a new contender for best fast food pizza in Midtown.

The pizza porn is after the jump…

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Conveyor belt sushi… but not really.

Well this isn’t a good way to kick off your first week with a new conveyor belt:

“I went to Yushi (on 47th btw. Park+Lex) for lunch today and had to walk right out. Why? Because the food on the conveyor is now for display only. That’s right. You look at the food on the conveyor, call your waitress over, and ask for it. You’ll then get your plate delivered. What a novel idea! It’s almost like ordering a la carte, except not remotely as convenient. Here I was getting ready to blow my lunch budget bigtime on some much missed conveyor sushi. Please update the entry so as not to mislead any other midtownlunchers expecting real conveyor treats. -Francois”

If people wanted to order food off a menu they’d go to a regular sushi place! I contacted Yushi for a comment, and their response is after the jump.

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The Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge gets its 15th entry today, as the Papa Perrone Pizza Truck on 55th btw. Mad+Park sends word that they are now selling meatball parm sliders (or -for those who can’t stand that term being used for anything other than steamed mini hamburgers- mini meatball parm sandwiches).  One for $3, three for $8 (topped with sauce and mozzarella), they definitely have them today and have assured me they’ll have them tomorrow.  (The bread is tough to get, so beyond that you may want to call ahead to find out if they have them: 917-880-1432. They’ll also do free delivery at the same number.)

Every Tuesday I turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. We’re just one week away from Choice Eats 2009– the Village Voice’s annual food event featuring restaurants hand picked by VV food writers Robert Sietsema & Sarah DiGregorio. Last year we profiled Mr. Sietsema, and gave away tickets to the event (which was awesome, btw) and this year we’re super excited to welcome Sarah DiGregorio. Obviously their offices aren’t in Midtown, but Sarah discriminates against no neighborhood- and eats in Midtown all the time. In fact, she is the one who discovered the spicy off the menu Indian sandwich with doritos at that now shuttered Blimpie on 45th Street. Not surprisingly, Choice Eats is completely sold out this year- but we have got a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky Midtown Lunch’er. Details are at the end of the profile…

Name: Sarah

Age: 29

Occupation: Food Writer (and head blogger for Village Voice’s Fork in the Road)

Where do you Work?: Village Voice, Cooper Square

Favorite Kind of Food: Curry Laksa

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Bubble tea

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: I love Sukhadia’s Gokul (on 45th btw. 5+6th) for bhel puri and vada pav and I like Azuri Cafe‘s falafel pocket (on 50th & 10th). It’s a little more expensive, but there’s nothing like Tout Va Bien (on 51st & 8th) for old-school French dishes like calf’s liver Lyonnaise (sauteed with lots of caramelized onions) and country-style pate. I like to sit at the bar and people-watch–the restaurant has been open and owned by the same family since 1949, and it’s still a French sailor hangout.

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Blogger and Profiled Lunch’er Andre Mika sends word that the old Kati Roll space on 46th Street (which has been empty since they moved to 39th St. almost two years ago) has finally been filled. “In case you missed it, our friends at St. Andrew’s Scottish Pub (44th Street) have opened a new location (the old one will close soon) at 140 West 46th Street btw 6th and Broadway.” A call to the new location confirms… the old 44th Street location is now closed, and the new St. Andrews officially opened yesterday on 46th with full food service.  Lunch is out of the ML price range, but Mamacita seemed to enjoy the Happy Hour.

The Street Vendor Project, which organizes the annual Vendy Awards, has created a new pamphlet for street vendors and is looking for your help handing them out. This Saturday (March 28th) from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. they are organizing a city wide distribution extravaganza and are looking for volunteers to help hand out the newly illustrated, multi-language (Spanish, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese and English) pamphlet which explains the rights that every street vendor is entitled to, in an easy to understand way.  If you’re interested in participating, just come to the Street Vendor Project HQ (123 William St.) on Saturday morning, where they will be distributing the guides to volunteers before fanning out to the rest of the city to hand them out to working vendors.

If you can’t make it to lower Manhattan on Saturday morning, you can also pick up guides ahead of time and then distribute them in your neighborhood.  To RSVP, email svp@urbanjusitce.org. And for more information on The Street Vendor Project, the Urban Justice League, or the Vendy Awards go to www.streetvendor.org

Check out a sample of the pamphlet, and fold out poster, after the jump

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